MY 2025 NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS FOR MORRIS AREA FREEWHEELERS

As MAFW Ride Coordinator I came up with my 2025 New Years Resolutions for Morris Area Freewheelers that I hope you share with me:

  • Follow our club motto of Nobody Rides Alone and that includes the ride leader.
  • Do the pace. 
  • As ride leader I will sweep.
  • As a rider I will regroup as necessary to keep the ride together.
  • More slow rides backing up fast rides.  For example, D+ ride backing up C ride.
  • Stop at all rest stops.

These resolutions are not only for when I am a ride leader but also when I am a rider.

Manny

MAFW MOTTO NOBODY RIDES ALONE

I just want to share a key learning from an extensive study that Drew conducted from 50 recent MAFW crashes.   This is extremely important under very cold or hot conditions. If a rider feels that he or she can’t continue with the ride please have someone accompany the rider back to the start.   On a recent ride Vinny and I were leading a ride from Denville and were prepared to shorten the ride if rain and wind came earlier than predicted.   We kept the riders together and regrouped as necessary and were prepared to go back as a group.

 Key Learnings from the review would include:

  • The data associated with the 50 incidents support the MAFW Club Motto that emphasizes that riding as a group is safer than riding alone.
    • All 50 reflect the support provided by other riders during these incidents.
    • 44 reflect situations that could happen whether riding as a group or alone … only 6 of the 50 involved rider to rider collisions.

Club News

Greetings, all.

A few updates to share:

  1. The Trek inspection scheduled for 1/18/2025 has been postponed due to lack of interest but will be rescheduled at a later date.
  2. The Board has approved an incentive for club members who recruit new members.  Any club member that recruits 3 new members will receive either a MAF jersey or a $50 gift card.  Names of club members who recruit 1 or 2 new members will be entered into a drawing for a MAF jersey or a $50 gift card.  The club’s IT Coordinator will  add a question to the new member sign up to capture who was the referring member.  The program runs annually from October 1 through September 30 and is retroactive to October 1, 2024.
  3.  Don’t forget to sign up for the club’s winter party that will take place on February 1, 2025.  If you didn’t receive the email invite, contact social@mafw.org.

Stay safe and have fun.

Best regards,

Michael

Bill Zalan’s Passing

I am sad to say that I have just learned that longtime MAFW member Bill Zalan lost his battle with lymphoma on Thursday, January 9.  Bill took up cycling to complement his running and prepare him for triathlons.   He had great success as a runner and a cyclist, and enjoyed many days of riding with MAFW.  He enjoyed the company of MAFW members on the Bon Ton Roulet and Bike Virginia.  He joined a People Cycling trip, going most of the way across the US, and then paralleling the Rhine River from Switzerland to Amsterdam.   In addition, Bill tried his luck with triathlons, and competed up to the Ironman distance.  

Funeral services will be at 10:00 am on Saturday (January 18, 2025) , St. Ladislaus Roman Catholic Church..  213 Somerset St.  New Brunswick  NJ 08901
There will be a reception at the Hungarian American Athletic Club (233 Somerset St. New Brunswick NJ  08901) immediately following.

Bill was the longtime companion of former MAFW  President Liz Jennison.(drlizjen@gmail.com)

An informal gathering celebrating Bill’s sporting life (running, biking, hiking, skiing) will be held on Sunday, January 19, 2025 from 1-4 pm at the home of Mike Falcone (14 Southwood Dr. Morris Plains, NJ)

MAFW Winter Potluck Party February 1st – Don’t be left out in the cold!

Mark your calendars!

Come Warm Up With Your Fellow Bikers – When: 6 PM Saturday 2/1/25 – Where: The Fairchild Fire Company 2 Burnham Rd, Morris Township, NJ

What: Pot Luck Dinner (the best!) – What else: Classic Vinyl Music by DJ – D

Notes: Bring guests @ $10 each – Single attendees: bring your favorite dish – Couples: bring a dish and a salad or hors d’oeuvres

Important: For planning purposes, each member should register for the party @ https://mafw.org/events/mafw-winter-party-pot-luck-dinner/#em-event-booking-form

Attire: Informal (jeans, etc.)

Questions? Email me at social@mafw.org

Free Bike Inspections, Part 2

Greetings, all.

I must have been so excited about the bike inspections that I forgot to tell you to go to “Calendar” on the club website to sign up.

And I’m leaving now to wash the egg off of my face.

Best regards to all.

Free Bike Inspections!

We are pleased to announce the return of our highly successful free Trek Bike Inspections at the Stirling location. Safety is the number one priority for our members. We urge you to take advantage of this vital free service exclusively for MAFW members. For most of you, your bikes have probably not been inspected by a professional in over 12 months. Trek Stirling will provide a free comprehensive, no obligation written assessment of your bike. The inspection includes tires, frame and fork, suspension, drivetrain, rider contact points, wheel system, and braking system. Members can make their own decisions regarding where or how their bike should be serviced.

Demonstrating their continued commitment to MAFW, Trek Stirling is offering exclusive service pricing not available to the general public. Level 2 service will be discounted by $100 and Level 3 service will be reduced by $150. Note that this savings is greater than the savings that Trek is currently promoting for those services to the general public. If you have friends or family who aren’t MAFW members and their bike(s) require service, they can join MAFW and wind up paying less for these services than they would if they weren’t club members!

This event is scheduled for January 18 if weather permits riding. D+, C, and C+/B rides will be offered. Rides will be approximately 20 miles in length. Otherwise, inspections will take place on January 25 regardless of weather. If the weather is bad on the 25th, rides will be cancelled. Please note that you are not obligated to sign up for a club ride in order to have your bike inspected. C+/B riders should plan to arrive no later than 9 AM; C riders at 9:30 AM; D+ riders at 10:15 AM, and those not riding at 11 AM. Refreshments will be provided by Trek.

Be sure to sign up so we can provide an accurate headcount to Trek even if you sign up for rides on that day.

Have fun; be safe.

Michael Chenkin

WEATHER

With winter upon us I just want to point out the section of the Ride Leader Handbook related to weather as indicated below.  On New Years Day Vinny and I led a ride from Denville where they were predicting 40 mph gusts and rain.  We carefully monitored the weather and determined that wind and rain would hold off until end of ride.  In case the weathermen were wrong we had plans that we shared with the 15 riders to shorten the ride.  I swept and Vinny led and we kept everyone together with occasional regroupings.  We were able to complete the ride before the rain and wind.  

Happy New Year, Manny

Weather

If the weather is clearly inappropriate for riding (e.g., rain, snow, ice or extreme wind), you should cancel your ride. Remember that wind can be as dangerous as precipitation and ice; flying garbage can lids, tree branches, and other windborne debris can make riding hazardous.

If the weather is questionable – e.g., there’s a greater than 50% probability of precipitation, it’s extremely windy (wind gusts of 15 mph or more), it’s very cold (under 30 degrees) or hot (over 90 degrees temperature or RealFeel™) – it’s your responsibility to decide whether to cancel the ride.

MAFW December 2024 / January 2025 Newsletter Available

Hi Freewheelers,

Happy Holidays to one and all!

Watch the website to see information on upcoming events, communication from our club president and ride coordinator, and ride guidelines.

Our Social Coordinator, John Storey, is always in need of your help for a number of our activities. Please email if you are interested: social@mafw.org

MAFW has 2 main guidelines or mottos that riders and ride leaders should follow:

  1. Nobody rides alone including the ride leader
  2. Ride leader sweeps for all rides except B and faster

Just a reminder that the December 2024 January 2025 edition of our NL is online. To read: click https://mafw.org/newsletter/

What’s in this issue:

  1. MAFW Election Results
  2. Poet’s Corner – John J. Burns
  3. Message from the President Elect
  4. Message from the Ride Coordinator
  5. Lights, Action, Cameras – Dave Kay’s 85th Birthday (reprint in honor of Dave’s 100th Birthday)
  6. Morris Area Freewheelers Foundation’s CPR & First Aid Course Update – Rob Greenberg
  7. Connect with the MAF Bike Club on Social Media! – Tracy Brown
  8. Bike Helmets What They Do and Don’t Do – Jay Marowitz
  9. How To Spot and Avoid the Latest Facebook Scams of 2024 – Tony Marchand
  10. Payment Confirmation Spam Emails – Tony Marchand
  11. Photo Gallery
  12. Bicycle Adventures 2024
  13. Cycling Guides – Mark Jay
  14. People Cycling
  15. Safety – Paul Malinowski
  16. Club Sponsors
  17. Club Officers

Enjoying your E-bike, trike, gravel bike? Let’s hear about your experience.

Folks, many of you have taken some interesting trips this year or in the past. So why not share your stories & photos with fellow club members?

We welcome any articles that you feel would be of interest. WHEN YOU HAVE A SPARE MOMENT, PLEASE SEND ME A STORY AND PICTURES OF YOUR BICYCLING ADVENTURES. Submit any information by the 24th of the preceding month at the following email address: newsletter@mafw.org

If you have any issues with your login credentials, please contact Membership Coordinator Betsy Eastwood at the following email address: membership@mafw.org

Periodically Rob Greenberg will be instructing a no-cost CPR course sponsored by the Morris Area Freewheelers Foundation. For those interested, you can contact Rob by phone at 973-334-0125 or by email at robdg01@aol.com for the next available session and more information.

Good Reading. Thanks,

Patricia Kipp Editor

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